AFRICA: Botswana’s new President Mokgweetsi Masis said he would give priority to tackling youth unemployment and diversifying its economy.

AMERICAS: The Brazilian Supreme Court authorized the release of three associates of President Michel Temer, plus several other people detained Thursday as part of a port investigation that has implicated the head of state.

ASIA: Indian officials say at least eight rebels have been killed in fighting with government troops in disputed Kashmir, triggering a new round of anti-India protests and clashes.

EUROPE: German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed his country’s continued willingness to engage in dialogue with Russia despite the conflict surrounding an alleged chemical weapon attack in Britain.

MIDDLE EAST: Israeli PM Netanyahu hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his sharp criticism of Israel after its soldiers killed 16 Palestinians.

TECHNOLOGY: The Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) communication satellite GSAT-6A has suffered a serious setback.

TOP STORY

Syria: Evacuation deal reached for last rebel holdout in East Ghouta

A “final” deal has been reached to evacuate rebels and civilians from Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Under the deal, fighters of Jaish al-Islam, the rebel faction in control of Douma, their families and civilians will leave to north-eastern Aleppo.

Rebel fighters had been pushed into Douma during a recent government offensive that broke rebel lines and cleaved the eastern Ghouta region in three.

Botswana: New President Mokgweetsi Masisi, sworn in as the landlocked country’s fifth post-colonial leader, said he would give priority to tackling youth unemployment and diversifying its economy. (Reuters)

Egypt: The army announced six jihadists and two soldiers were killed last week during a sweeping operation against Islamic State group militants in the Sinai Peninsula. (AFP)

Ghana: South Korea deployed an anti-piracy warship to the Gulf of Guinea after three South Korean sailors were kidnapped by pirates, Seoul’s foreign ministry said. (AFP)

Zimbabwe: President Emmerson Mnangagwa said his country is seeking deeper economic ties with China to leapfrog its economy battered by years of Western sanctions. (Xinhua)

AMERICAS

Brazil: The Federal Supreme Court authorized the release of three associates of President Michel Temer, plus several other people detained Thursday as part of a port investigation that has implicated the head of state. (EFE)

Costa Rica: An Easter vote will decide whether conservative Christian singer Fabricio Alvarado Munoz can capture the presidency, a result that would mark a sharp turn from the current government’s embrace of gay rights. (Reuters)

Venezuela: Five police officials are suspected of being responsible for a fire that killed 68 people in a police station jail and have been detained, the nation’s chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said. (AP)

ASIA

Region: A boat carrying dozens of Rohingya refugees trying to reach Malaysia briefly stopped on a Thai island, an official said, as fears grow about overcrowded camps for the stateless minority fleeing violence in Myanmar. (AFP)

Afghanistan: At least four militants affiliated to the hardliner Islamic State (IS) group were killed and their attack to expand foothold in Haska Mina district has failed, provincial police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashriqwal said. (Xinhua)

Bangladesh: Ratish Chandra Bhowmik, a respected prosecutor and champion of minority rights who fought the state’s case in a high-profile murder trial against Islamist extremists has disappeared, police said, with grave fears for his safety. (AFP)

India: Officials say at least eight rebels have been killed in fighting with government troops in disputed Kashmir, triggering a new round of anti-India protests and clashes. (AP)

EUROPE

Region: German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed his country’s continued willingness to engage in dialogue with Russia despite the conflict surrounding an alleged chemical weapon attack in Britain which has led to tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats by Moscow and western countries. (DPA)

Russia: Aman Tuleyev, the governor of the Kemerovo Region in Siberia, tendered his resignation in the wake of the March 25 shopping mall fire that left 64 people dead. (Tass)

United Kingdom: Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is facing growing criticism over his handling of reported anti-Semitism among some of his supporters. (AP)